The cyclone Hurricane John, a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, made landfall Monday night in the Mexican state of Guerrero, south of the country, reported the National Meteorological Service (SMN).
According to the criteria of
“The center of Hurricane John, a Category 3 hurricane, made landfall at 9:15 p.m. local time south-southwest of Marquelia, Guerrero state, with winds of 195 kilometers per hour (km/h) and gusts of 220 km,” the SMN said.
The agency stated that at 9:30 p.m. local time the cyclone, The tenth of the Pacific season and the second to pass over Mexican territory, was located on land, 10 kilometers (km) east of Copala and 40 km northwest of Punta Maldonado, both places in the state of Guerrero.
John’s blow reaches the state of Guerrero after the Acapulco resort suffered the passage of Hurricane Otis in October 2023, the strongest cyclone of the past season, which made landfall on October 25 as a Category 5 hurricane, with sustained winds of 260 km/h, causing at least 51 deaths and 34 missing, and losses of some 3.2 billion dollars.
Upon entering the territory, John presented sustained winds of 195 km/h and gusts of 220 km/h and is now moving north.
The report noted that John’s wide circulation will generate extraordinary rainfall (over 250 mm) in Oaxaca and Guerrero, and torrential rainfall (150 to 250 mm) in Chiapas.
In addition to intense rainfall (75 to 150 mm) in Veracruz and Puebla; very heavy rainfall (50 to 75 mm) in Tabasco; and warned that John’s cloud bands will increase the probability of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the center of the country, including the Valley of Mexico.
Winds gusting from 200 to 220 km/h and waves of 5 to 7 meters high were also forecast in western Oaxaca and eastern Guerrero.
Due to these conditions, The SMN maintains a hurricane prevention zone from the east of Acapulco, Guerrero, to Huatulco Bay, Oaxaca, and prevention zone for tropical storm effects from east of Huatulco Bay to Salina Cruz, Oaxaca.
The Mexican Meteorological Service asked the population to take extreme precautions, including maritime navigation, as well as complying with the recommendations issued by the Civil Protection authorities.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador warned Monday night that Hurricane John would make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in southern Mexico.
“Attention to all the people of the Costa Chica of Guerrero and from Cuajinicuilapa to Huatulco: Hurricane John will make landfall in two hours as a Category 3 storm,” the president said in a message on social media that he published around 8:00 p.m. local time (02:00 GMT on Tuesday).
Seek higher ground, protect yourselves and don’t forget that the most important thing is life; material things are replenished. We will be watching.
“Look for higher ground, protect yourselves and don’t forget that life is the most important thing; material things can be replaced. We will be watching,” he added.
In Guerrero, the head of Civil Protection, Laura Velázquez, and the Governor of the state, Evelyn Salgado, together with military authorities reported that they were prepared for the deployment of the DN-III Plan, in the event of natural disasters with agents of the Army, Navy and National Guard in the municipalities of Cuajinicuilapa, Copala, Florencio Villarreal and Marquelia, in the Costa Chica region of Guerrero, where 299 shelters were opened for the population in danger.
In addition, this Monday, authorities in the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero decided to suspend classes at all school levels due to the impact of John.
Last week, Storm Ileana hit the northwestern state of Sinaloa, causing minor damage, while three cyclones have hit Mexico from the Atlantic: Hurricane Beryl and Storm Chris, which left no deaths in July, and Storm Alberto in June, which left six dead in Nuevo León, a state on Mexico’s northern border.
Mexican authorities in May predicted up to 41 named cyclones in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, of which at least five would hit the country.
#Hurricane #John #landfall #Guerrero #state #southern #Mexico #Category #alert #heavy #rains #winds